Frustrations of a Wolf
by The Chuckinator
Summary: After saving the world from Ganondorf, Link is trapped in his wolf form and moves into the castle with Zelda. All this changes one day on a normal trip to Kakariko Village to destroy monsters, Link discovers the Twilight is once again threatening to blanket his world. When Midna comes back, the two set out to discover what happened and get the adventure of a lifetime.
1. The Princess' Wolf

Frustrations of a Wolf 

By The Chuckinator

Adopted from Snowsheba

Chapter 1: The Princess' Wolf

To the average citizen of Hyrule, the Princess Zelda was the most amazing person alive. She was wise beyond her years, beautiful, and was able with a sword. But meanwhile, Link just wondered why she was the princess and not the queen. Because she was ruling the kingdom by herself, and she wasn't the queen, she was the princess. It really didn't make any sense, but no matter whom he brought it up with, it was laughed aside. Not that he could talk to people. He was stuck as a wolf, after all, so he often talked with the stupid, brainless puppies outside of the castle. Although, fortunately, Telma's cat was smart enough for decent conversation, thank the goddesses. He would give up a lot to be able to talk to people again, though – not that he said much in the first place, but even so, it would be nice.

Midna seemed to have forgotten the magic Zant had cast on him before she left to the Twilight Realms, and Zelda had been insistent that he put the Master Sword back into its original resting spot. When he wanted to be human, he had to get her permission to get the sword. And even then, he couldn't go anywhere without it, because otherwise he'd turn back into a wolf again.

_Pointless,_ Link thought. And now what was he? He was a wolf who was almost always with Hyrule's princess. He was padding after her right now, in fact, his chained paw clinking against the marble floor. The guards they passed shrank away, and covered their faces when he turned his head slightly to look at them.

He always unnerved the guards. His eyes were too human, they complained, and more often than not, they'd whisper stories about the wolf understanding their speech. He was an omen of evil to come, so the rumors went, and when he looked at you in the eye, your time was nearing an end…the list was endless, and Link knew almost all of it. Zelda, an intelligent woman, was quite aware of this, and strove to assure the guards not to worry. Link would've been more than happy to bite their arms off, but at Zelda's order he was to follow her, the obedient wolf he was.

Well, he was a very obedient wolf. Link knew he was a little fanatic about patriotism. He had gone and risked his life more times than he'd care to count, all to help one princess, come back and to get Hyrule under control again. He still didn't know how he did it. Ganondorf was several times his size, and yet, somehow, he'd managed to kill him. Link reasoned he probably wasn't dead.

He thought it would be cool to be in the legends. Like, hundreds of years from now, some old man in a faraway, seaside village would be telling little kids about his story, what he had done to save Hyrule. He looked at his paw in distaste. Midna had gotten most of the chain off, but he still had the shackle on him. It was very annoying, especially when it was cold outside; his body would be warm, except for his single paw, and it made for an odd and unpleasant feeling. He always whined to Zelda, holding up the chain, but she'd just laugh and say to take it like a man, as if men were tougher than women. Zelda was by far the toughest person he'd ever met.

He looked up from his thoughts to find that Zelda was smiling at him, and he blinked at her in response, showing she had his attention. Zelda was great, because she was nice, and she never forgot about him. But her wisdom thing with the Triforce could get pretty damn creepy. She knew everything, and he meant everything, and she could almost always tell what he was thinking. Though most of the time, that was a good thing.

_I'm so bored,_ he thought, tapping his chained paw on the ground for emphasis. He knew Zelda would understand.

"Link, please go out to Kakariko Village. They've got some monster trouble," she said softly, still smiling. She added quietly, "They're expecting you."

Despite himself, Link's tail gave a little wag, though he stilled it immediately as he nodded. Then he began to pad through the halls, easily finding his way back to the main entrance and slipping into Castle Town. People were still scared of him, and he felt a slight pang when people began to scream at his presence, but he brushed past them and scared a guard enough that he dropped his rupees. He scavenged those and then rushed out to the hills, eager to move forward. Only a few people knew he was actually the human Link when they saw him, but the shaman at Kakariko was one of those people. It would be good to see him again. Zelda watched the retreating wolf from the spire of one of her towers. Then she shook her head and turned to the interior of her room. There were matters to be done.

* * *

**Author's Note: The first three chapters were written by Snowsheba.**


	2. To the Village

Chapter 2: To the Village

Pelting across Hyrule Field used to be fun. Of course, it wasn't to say being a wolf and sprinting across the Field was worse than being a human and doing the exact same thing. It was a lot more enjoyable when he was on his beloved Epona, partly because he exerted way less effort than he did now, partly because he could fight and keep traveling much more easily on horseback.

Now the most he could do with Epona in his current form was run besides her, and he missed brushing her and cleaning her hoofs and taking care of her in general. She always pestered him to change into a human, even though she knew he couldn't, not without the sword. Link panted as he stretched his muscles, urging them to exert more and more strength until he was almost flying across the Fields, becoming a mere dark blur to monsters he passed. So fast was he that they didn't have time to even react until he was leagues away, drawing their weapons only to find a very sure lack of enemies.

He only slowed when he came to the village where he'd once saved all the children from his hometown. He had to tread carefully now; Gorons were prone to approach and attack him, and in his current form he was no match for them. The first few times he had come, he had been thrown out without a second thought, leaving even his lithe body bruised and battered. The only exception to this rule was when he would come to destroy monsters; then they would temporarily leave him alone. As it turned out, in the end, it turned out there was no need for caution. Bulblins of all sizes, along with the occasional Bokoblin, were battering the village's buildings and citizens with clubs and arrows. Link immediately threw himself into the fight, welcoming the blows ramming his side and the blood splattering his pelt. He had felt confined and had nearly gone mad in the palace.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so if he had remained a human, but as a wolf… he wondered if he had gained wolf-like tendencies as he tore out a Bulblin's throat. As the blood splattered against his snout, the acrid taste burning his tongue, he decided he had, immediately turning to another enemy and dispatching it with a quick, efficient crunch to its head.

An explosion rocked the world nearby; there was Barnes, cackling as he threw his handmade bombs into the middle of the crowd of monsters, sending them flying in all directions, dead or dying. Link would have normally given him an appreciative nod, though in this case, some bodies actually landed on him and pinned him down. Even with all the enemies there, he, Barnes, and the Gorons made remarkably quick work of them, for soon, all that was left was the carnage and dead from the battle. Link gave his body a rough shake, showering everything nearby with not only his blood but monsters' as well, before he turned and picked his way to the sanctuary, where the shaman Renado would no doubt be.

The shaman had since exited the building, having realized the battle was over, and he nodded to the wolf as it padded up before casting its eyes around his village. None of the buildings had been extensively damaged, fortunately, though he and the remaining few villagers would have their work put out for them. The Gorons began to collect the bodies of the dead monsters and Link did not spend time wondering where they put them. Now that the adrenaline was no longer flowing, he felt slightly ill to his stomach when he looked at his fallen foes.

"Greetings, Link. It seems you came just in time," Renado said. Link nodded once before chancing a quick glance over his shoulder. It was a mistake; he felt his stomach rebel as he turned away, and he swallowed to keep it down. But something was bothering him; he had seen something, a tinge of a thing he was familiar with, when he had looked back. He dared not look again to clarify, swallowing once more as Renado continued, "You should bathe in the spring before returning to the castle. You have wounds that need to be healed."

Link hadn't been aware of them, though now that they were mentioned, they flared in sudden pain; scratches, bruises, the whole lot of them, burning his skin like it was on fire. He gave a quick nod in agreement, turning from the shaman and padding lightly to the ethereal waters of Eldon. With a soft grunt he splashed into the water, flopping down onto his side, tail thumping the spring's shallow bottom. He saw something out of the corner of his eye. Link didn't want to look and see the aftermath of his fight and he didn't want to lift his head, which suddenly felt like it weighed as much as a boulder. It winked out of sight for a moment, and then it came back, flickering at just the edge of his vision, irritating him more than a bee buzzing around his muzzle. With an annoyed snort he jerked his head up, staring directly at whatever he had originally seen.

He'd seen that tinge in the sky before: rippling like waves on Lake Hylia's surface, black and shining with an ominous orange color. Dread chilled the blood in his veins, and his breath caught in his throat as the arcane symbols of the Twili danced in and out of view. Without even sparing a backward glance at Renado, Link sprang to his feet and pounded out the village gates, his nose pointing straight ahead like an arrow he'd once been able to shoot. He had to warn Zelda before it spread and consumed the world once more.

As he raced across the plains, streaking by so quickly his ears were pressed flat against his head, he wondered: what could have triggered Twilight's return? He remembered exploring the world when it was under its dark blanket. It had been strange, really, to see monsters mutated into something…different, sort of, since they were still relatively the same. He was not eager to fight or be carried by a giant bird again, either, even if it had been very convenient.

At Castle Town and the castle itself, he simply shouldered past anyone in his way, snapping spear handles pointing at him in half and deftly deflecting or dodging swords slashing down at him. Everyone knew he was the Princess's special charge, but even so, they were convinced she was better without and so attempted to 'accidentally' kill him. He'd gotten adept at avoiding them, fortunately, though it was his fault the armory was becoming short of supplies as well. It wasn't his fault that he had to keep breaking weapons; they were the ones trying to kill him, after all.

Once at the entrance to the throne room, however, the soldiers allowed him in without batting an eye. The elite ones, the soldiers Zelda allowed near her, knew something was a bit different with the wolf. Some even called him a spy who served the Princess, which, Link reflected as he trotted up to her, was fairly accurate. And then, once Zelda was assured there was no immediate danger from his noisy entrance, came the hard part: conveying the message to the Princess without speaking. Even Zelda's skill at reading his mind failed her, and despite all the frantic jumps and hops and dances and yips and whatever else he did, he had to, in the end, seek out the Master Sword once more.

It always took him forever to get the stupid sword. He didn't see why she just didn't let him carry it around; it wasn't like he was going to die that easily and have the sword be lost with his body. After all, he had faced a giant plant, an enormous fire giant, a huge sea serpent, a big pile of bones and its fire-breathing skull – he could go on, once he got started. So really, it wasn't like some random Bulblin would come up and stab him in the gut and kill him. He was too good for that. He enlisted the help of the monkeys to help him across the poisonous purple haze. He had given them his lantern for safekeeping, and they put it to good use; the monkey he had rescued so long ago had become so proficient at it that she had him across in mere minutes. After thanking her he raced ahead, for time was ticking away and Twilight wasn't going to wait for him.

The next part was always trickier. After losing Midna's wonderful jumping power, Link had had an incredibly hard time getting to the Sacred Grove. In the end, Zelda had a few of her men erect a few tightropes that he used to get from landing to landing. From there it had been easy for the men to be afraid to enter the cave they saw; all they needed to see what Link growling and barking at them, biting any limbs that came too close.

Once through, the next few things were self-explanatory; wait for the bridges to change, cross the tightropes, enter the Grove… Link have a quick prayer to Farore so he wouldn't encounter the Skull Kid as he quickly made his way to the Sword's location. Fortunately, the Kid had evidently decided to take pity on him and did not make an appearance, though he could hear his distinct trumpet-like instrument echoing through the trees.

Link always hated the part where he actually had to near the sword. Still, gritting his teeth and telling himself it was for the good of the realm, he inched closer and closer, growling as the sword slowly dispelled the evil from his body. As soon as his muzzle touched the cold steel, his body abruptly transformed to human, his bones shifting, cartilage shortening to his ears, his nose painfully shrinking. Embarrassment was avoided as he still kept his Hero's Clothes every time he transformed. Fortunately, he thought as he drew the Master Sword from the pedestal and slid it into the sheath that always magically found its way onto his back.

Navigating out of the Grove was a little more difficult, him having lost the majority of his heightened balance and senses he had had as a wolf, and he was more used to a wolf's body than that of a human's at this point, though he still managed to cross all the tightropes with ease and soon, his monkey friend was leading him back across the swamp. In less time still, he whistled for Epona, who arrived quickly. Thank the goddesses she responds to an ordinary whistle, Link thought as he mounted Epona from her back and spurred her forward into a gallop. He had wanted to carry the horse whistle Ilia had made for him, but it looked quite odd around a wolf's neck, so he had left it in his humble abode back in Ordon.

The ride was uneventful, though he had to deal with a few of those incredibly annoying bird-like creatures, the ones so bothersome Link had never bothered to learn their name. Upon reaching Castle Town, he was instantly admitted into the royal grounds; the guards, though finding his silence and stature intimidating, knew of his incredible skill and wisely chose not to bother him. They also noted that when he was here, the wolf-dog was not, something all of them were grateful for. Link had to resist the urge not to give them a sound knock on their heads every time they thanked him for it.

It took a little more effort to get into the throne room – though effort, for Link, merely meant staring the guards down until they opened the door and admitted him. As soon as he had gone up in front of Zelda, knelt, and was told to stand, she asked him, "What is the problem?"

Link still did not like talking very much, though in this case, it was imperative that he did. "Twilight threatens to blanket Hyrule once more, Princess."

For her part, Zelda did not even look startled, maintaining a serene expression on her delicate face. But Link knew her better, and he clearly saw her eyes flash briefly with worry and concern. "You are certain?"

There was no reason for her to ask that, other than to delay the inevitable. Link nodded. She sighed, slouching down in her throne in a rare show of weakness, fingers tapping her thigh. "It is unfortunate we cannot contact Midna… though I personally doubt she had anything to do with this."

Link bit his lip at the reminder of the Twili Princess. Her face was still burned into his memory, as was the day she shattered the Mirror into millions of pieces. It was impossible to return to the Twilight world at the given time, though Zelda had informed him of a legend - that it was possible to reopen the path with blood...

Link tilted his head. She had also said she didn't know whose blood, how much, and what to do with it once one had it. So overall, that legend served them no good purpose.

After a moment, the proud, regal leader he knew returned, sitting up straight and folding her hands neatly in her lap. "Link, do you suppose you could investigate...?"

"I cannot guarantee I will get in," Link said immediately, meaning the actual Twilight world. "But I will try."

Her lips curled up in the tiniest smile. "Thank you, Link. It escapes me as to what I would do without you. Go; I will not hold you up any longer."

Link turned, intent on his task, and walked out of the room, arms crossed, brow furrowed in thought. It wasn't until he was out of Castle Town that he realized he wasn't able to keep his human form in the Twilight world. Which meant he had to go all the way back to the Sacred Grove and return the sword there. After mumbling a few curses under his breath, he whistled for Epona, mounted up, and spurred her in the direction of the Grove. Link pointed his snout at the wall of Twilight, glowing with arcane symbols and figures, as he and Epona slowed to a walk. His horse whinnied and stop well before it, stomping a hoof when Link attempted to cajole her forward, mostly because he wanted her nearby as moral support.

_I'm not getting closer to that,_ she retorted, swishing her tail. _Be careful, master Link._

He nodded before padding up to the curtain of Twilight, leaving Epona behind. As he drew near, darkness clouded his vision and the unearthly orange color glowed brightly in his sight. He didn't really know how to get in, though, so he stopped and tried to blink away the strange symbols. Before, Midna had always been the one to yank him into the other world. Although, before she had come - the first time, that is, when he came into Twilight - he'd been pulled in by a monster. Would he have to wait for one to sense his intrusion and consequently pull him in?

Link tilted his head, carefully extending his nose to give the wall a cautious sniff. There was a strange absence of any scents on it, though he could smell the grass and monsters and the coming rain in the wind. Now he extended his snout a bit further and touched it, bracing himself for the – the pain, perhaps, he didn't know.

Nothing happened. In fact, he lost most of the sensation in his nose, and he jerked back, startled, panicking slightly within the moment it took for his nerves to spark back to life. Curious – it seemed he could just walk right on in. He wondered if Midna's 'ability' had been just for show, but then he shook his head; now was not the time to think of the beautiful Twili princess. He bunched his muscles, let out a growl, and lunged, shuddering as his body passed through the thin, black curtain.

He landed in an ungainly heap on the hard ground, shaking his head and looking around. Link had traveled much and knew Hyrule's lands as well as he knew the back of his hand. Still, it was a shock to see the Twilight hovering over his own home, the Ordona region. He had, however, seen much in the years; he came over that shock quickly and made himself focus on the task on hand. He scrambled to his paws and padded cautiously forward, across the bridge, past the spring – he would return there later, and finally to where his house was located.

It appeared undamaged; the creatures of shadow, it seemed, were unable to climb up the ladder to his little house. But just to be sure, he clamped on one of the bottom legs, jerked his head back, and watched, satisfied, as it fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The noise was loud, but despite that, no monsters sprang out at him. Link then continued padding forward until he arrived at the main body of the village.

He immediately pinpointed several spirits about, most floating near the pumpkin patch. Three were congregated in a tight circle, and he trotted up, focusing his senses until he could see the outlines of the villagers. Then he plopped down in the middle of the circle and lay his head on his paws with a sigh, ears pricked for eavesdropping.

"We need some way to get rid of them." Link immediately paired the voice to the town mayor.

"And how do you suppose we do that, Father?" Ilia asked.

"We can't fight them." That was Rusl, though why he was in Ordon and not in Castle Town at the moment boded ill. "Getting too close is dangerous, too. I was nearly killed by the one up near Link's house."

The mayor sighed, shifting his enormous bulk from foot to foot. Link lazily reached his back paw behind his ear and scratched himself as the man said, "We may have to relocate the villagers, until we can decide what to do with the monsters."

"How do we do that?"

"The monsters can't swim," Ilia pointed out, then suggested, "Rafts, maybe?"

"They can't climb, either," Rusl added. "We could send the children up the standing rocks; they can all climb the vines, I'm sure."

"Perhaps we should sent them to Kakariko," the mayor murmured, but Ilia was shaking her head.

"I tried to leave, but there was a barrier blocking it," she explained at her father's look. "We're trapped here."

Link' heart thudded painfully in his chest. His town was in danger. The children were in danger. Even his best friend Ilia was in danger.

Then he shook himself and got to his feet. Nothing could be solved if he didn't take action. Firstly, he needed to visit the light spirit; why hadn't he done that first, he wondered as he went off, paws carrying him easily out of the village, past his house, thudding softly against the ground as he trotted to the spring. The light spirit was visible, a small cloud of swirling light and gold and beauty. Link splashed around in the shallow waters, letting it seep into his body and heal whatever physical wounds he had, before approaching it.

_To think this would happen again,_ Ordona said as soon as he was close. T_his time, I do not even know why. _Link tilted his head, asking wordlessly, _what do you mean?_

_It was as if I lost consciousness,_ the spirit explained. _When I awoke, Twilight surrounded me once more. I suppose you could say I was ambushed, however much I am ashamed to admit so._

_As I'm sure you remember, I will need the Tears to return this place to its former light,_ the spirit said, and Link nodded. Except now he didn't have Midna on his back to help him. It was going to be a little more difficult this time around, he could feel it. Still, he took the familiar vessel without complaint, letting it curl around his neck, a cool, bulbous necklace.

It was time to be the hero once again.


	3. Midna Returns

Chapter 3: Midna Returns

Link honed his senses and crept forward on silent paws, quietly approaching the bug attached to the wall. Last time he'd done this, just a few minutes ago, he'd gotten a nasty shock right to the sniffer. He was going to be more careful this time around. As soon as he judged that he was close enough, he coiled his muscles, crouching low, then sprung upwards, jaws wide and neck outstretched. Sure enough, his teeth closed around exoskeleton with a sickening crunch; by the time he'd dropped to the ground, landing lightly on his paws, the bug had crackled out of existence, leaving a brilliant ball of liquid floating behind. Link touched it with his nose and the Tear, sensing its vessel, slipped out of his vision and pooled into its proper sphere on his neck.

He could just barely see the vessel if he strained his head all the way to the right, and he deemed that he only had two more bugs to go. His nose went to the ground, and he took a deep sniff in order to judge their location. It was weak, but he picked up on the scent and began to follow it, periodically smelling the air to make sure he was going to the right place.

A few minutes later another bug at the goat stables died at his paws, and after a lengthy search, he found the last one burrowed underground in front of his house. Clever of it, really, he thought to himself as he touched the last Tear, but Link's senses were far too sharp for it to escape without notice.

He padded back to the spring, feeling tired and weary. It had been a long day, for besides doing all this, he had run to and from the Grove once and to the Castle twice, and then he'd run all the way to Ordon, and as soon as the light spirit reclaimed its vessel, coaxing the material from his neck, he dropped into the spring water with a long sigh.

_Thank you, Hero of the Gods,_ Ordona said, and Link whuffed softly in response, shutting his eyes and covering them with a paw before the light spirit even cautioned him to. There was a quiet chuckle as the clearing filled with light, and then when he stood back up on all fours the artificial darkness was gone.

Now that that was done, he dreaded the journey back to Castle Town, for it wasn't exactly close and he just wanted to sleep and eat. If Midna were still with him, he wouldn't have this problem, either; she'd just teleport him to wherever he needed to go, when he needed to.

_Hero, before you go,_ Ordona said suddenly, and Link froze in mid-step before pivoting to face the spirit again. He averted his eyes and kept them below the actual form; the creature was far too luminous and bright to be started at directly. _I fear this will not be the last time your skills will be needed._

His heart sunk and he exhaled air out of his nostrils, almost allowing his legs to collapse underneath him but remembering at the last second that he still had some running to do. He then nodded in recognition that he had heard, turning and plodding away from the spring with a heavy mind. Crossing the bridge, usually a point of trepidation for him given the stark depth of the canyon, was only a hazy memory; the wide expanse of the Fields were forgotten almost entirely. Even when going through Castle Town he failed to dodge and protect himself accordingly, and by the time he arrived into the throne room he was staggering on his front paws and one hind leg, for the other had had its muscles cleaved through by something sharp.

Zelda rose to her feet and hurried over to him as he continued to go forward, and he collapsed halfway when she knelt down beside him. "Who did this?" she asked Link quietly, and the nearby guards flinched away despite their iron training; the princess's voice was hard and venomous, promising death to the one who had hurt her loyal wolf. Link didn't remember but thought it had been some incompetent grunt back down in Castle Town. Or maybe that one Bublin that had loosed a flaming arrow at him earlier? He wasn't sure, and Zelda merely sighed, being able to read him enough to understand his confusion due to exhaustion and hunger. "Take him to my quarters, please. And have food delivered. I will take care of him personally."

There were protests somewhere against this, but she brushed them all aside and assigned a number of guards to lift and carry him somewhere. He did his best to stay conscious, which involved a lot of concentrating on the pain in his leg, but in the end he let his eyes close and did not wake up as Zelda and a few maids cleaned his wound with warm water.

When he awoke, he was alone and it was dark outside. His leg burned as soon as he stood up and cautiously put some weight onto it, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with, so he padded out of Zelda's quarters, down the stairs, past the row of guards, and back to the throne room, only to find the chair within unoccupied. It seemed Zelda was elsewhere, and he tracked her scent this time in order to make sure he went to the right place. He found her on the spire of one of her towers, watching something in the distance, and she was so focused on whatever it was she didn't notice him until he nosed her elbow and made a soft noise. "We have more problems, Link," she said gravely, and he knew what the problem would be before he even boosted his front paws onto the stone keeping him from falling a few hundred feet below.

He whined a bit as he dropped back down, just before his hind leg would give out on him, and Zelda let out a silent sigh as she crouched besides him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and her hand felt cool against the heat of the wound. "But you're the only one who can do anything about it." She kept repeating murmured apologies as Link steeled himself and placed weight onto his leg, and only when he padded out the door did her words cease.

He trotted out of the castle and into the night, noting with a sigh that it would rain given the smell of the wind. Guards gave him a wide berth as he went past; another superstition about him was that he was all-powerful at night, and to try and attack him once the sun set meant you would die within the month. Most of the time he found it stupid, but tonight he was thankful for he was in no condition to dodge effectively. He walked out of the gates and down the stairs and onto the Field, and kept trotting along even as bones rose from the ground and tried to bite him, even as birds swooped low and try to claw him, even as creatures came close and tried to club him. Only when he neared the walls of Twilight did he stop, the orange symbols and black miasma dancing in his vision. Then he huffed to himself and simply walked right in, a line of coldness enveloping his body where the thin wall of Twilight wavered.

It was the Faron region, this time around near his hometown, which might lend a hypothesis that the person in charge of the attacks was on foot. He went to the spring straightaway and went straight towards the deeper part so he might swim in the ethereal liquid; in doing so, the wound on his leg ceased burning and closed up completely, and once he'd shaken out his fur and lapped at the spring's water, he felt rejuvenated. The light spirit was silent as he did so, and it was only when he was within an arm's length could he hear the voice in his mind.

_Ordona warned me, but it was so sudden,_ Faron whispered, and Link sat his rump down and pricked both ears, as if it would help him hear. _It was as though a screen was pulled in front of me, and when it raised, there was nothing but darkness. I have never felt so weak. Please find my Tears scattered around, I beg of you._

Link accepted the mission with hardly a blink of the eye, and resigned himself to another long search as he splashed out of the shallow water. The lantern lay abandoned the ground near the purple fog, upright and still burning. If he sharpened his senses he could see the monkey trying in vain to pick it up; it was slightly more difficult given how she was literally a shadow of her former self. Instead, he carefully closed his jaws around the handle and padded into the violet haze, on the lookout for bugs.

After scouring the fog and finding most of the bugs, he realized that he had to go up into the canopy if he were to find the last ones. So he brought the lantern back and placed it near where he had found it, and then trotted up to the high cliff that led to the strange pillars of stone. He had never been able to jump these without Midna, and he wasn't certain he could do it now, but he had no other choice.

He took a huge running start and kept jumping without stopping, lest he lost his balance. He hardly breathed until he landed hard and scrabbled to a halt on a wider expanse of wood, only to yelp loudly when he received an electric shock from the bugs he had been trying to find. He killed them quickly with mechanic efficiency; noting that the vessel was full, he did a 360 and wondered how he could go back the way he came.

In the end, he just prayed to every goddess he knew and leapt forward, barely resting on one pillar long enough for him to spring onto the next. On the cliff his hind leg, the one that had been injured, slipped and he was grasping for a pawhold with his front legs; then, with a profound sigh of relief, he pulled himself all the way up and lay sprawled on the hill for a few moments.

He got to his feet after a few languid seconds, and was running down the hill when, out of nowhere, an arm shot out and somersaulted him backwards, snout over tail twice before he got back to feet, already knowing what he was facing: a Twilit, as Midna had called them, or merely Shadow Beasts per Zelda's terminology. Was it only one? He doubted it, and he bunched his muscles and lunged for the Twilit's neck, splitting metallic skin and spilling dark, oily blood onto his fur as his jaws crunched powerfully on the creature's neck. He dropped away as the Shadow Beast fell dead, and turned to find not two, not three but seven others converging on him. And then, just as he'd aniticipated, a fence formed of the Twilits' powers came crashing to the ground, and he was alone on the battlefield.

Without Midna's help, this would be tricky. He'd have to be careful in order not to get injured to the point of being unable to fight, and he spat out wads of oily black blood as he braced himself for the approaching monsters.

He killed one straight away using the same method as the last; then he dodged to the left while the Twilit clumsily slashed at him, in the process also clawing each other. The grass became slick with their blood as he scrambled around them, killing one every other few minutes and mauling whenever he could. Soon he could feel nothing but thick liquid clogging his throat, and he panted wildly as he killed the third-to-last creature remaining by closing his teeth around the back of its neck, through all the tentacles trying to envelope him, and ripped whatever-it-was out of its flesh.

The last two he took out with a few well-timed spinning attacks, clawing both with his legs and gouging deep cuts in their chests. When they finally dropped, well and truly dead, Link continued to spit out the blackness in his throat as their bodies disappeared and faded into the portal whence they came. He only looked up when he could breathe properly, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and stained a monotonous gray.

If there were portals, someone from the Twilight World was responsible for their existence. In addition, since there were Twilit beasts about, someone had taken the Sols he had so carefully retrieved all those months ago and hidden them again. He feared that Midna was behind their creation, but then realized the stupidity of that thought and instead began to worry of her welfare. Was she safe? Had Zant pulled some trick and come back to life? What was going on?

His questions wouldn't be answered unless he could talk to her, and he told himself the only thing he could do now was return the Tears to Faron and talk to Zelda as soon as possible. Thus, he turned and, without glancing back, trotted back to the safety of the spring, the vessel for the Tears fastened securely around his neck.

But when he actually arrived at the spring, he found most of the water had dried up. In fact, the little that remained pooled below where the spirit rested, and there was only a light trickle from behind whereas before there had been a waterfall. He hastened his step to deliver the tears, his paws quickening their pace, only to run snout-first into a field of Twilight energy, so hard that it sent him reeling back, blinking back stars.

Hero, he heard faintly, and then he heard light footsteps behind him and he spun around to find a shadowed figure. He knew without seeing their face that they were dangerous; automatically he shifted into a defensive position, his lips pulling back into a snarl as a growl escaped his throat.

"Easy, easy," the figure said soothingly, and the voice was so painfully familiar he felt his hackles lower. But just as quickly he reminded himself of the earlier incident and he growled even more furiously, because what was she doing here? How had she gotten back? "I won't hurt you. I just need to talk."

He backed into the fence, feeling it hold him back from Faron, and meaningfully turned sideways to nudge it with his shoulder. The message was clear: let me through, and then we'll see about talking.

"The whole reason it's there is so I can talk to you, idiot," she said, and then she lowered her hood and the achingly beautiful Midna came into view. Link failed to be reassured by the turn of events, and the warning growl he had been keeping up without knowing raised in volume as she took a step closer. "If the light spirit changes the world back, I'll have to wait in a shadow somewhere until Twilight comes back. Just hear me out, would you?"

She had a point, but he wasn't willing to compromise. He needed to get the spirit, and he needed to get to them now. Midna was extremely important to him, and some part of him was ecstatic to see her, but there were priorities and Faron was one of them. Again, he shoved at the wall with a shoulder to get his point across, and she grandly ignored him.

"Look. All I'm asking is that you let me camp out in your shadow once you turn this region back. That's all I'm asking. Oh, and I need to get to Zelda, but I understand you guys are pretty tight so that shouldn't be a problem." Midna stared at him with soulful orange eyes. "You do remember me, right, Link?"

_You're the reason I'm still a wolf,_ he thought as hard as he could, but she wasn't like Zelda; she didn't hear, let alone understand what he was trying to get across. But what other choice did he have? Every second longer he waited could be Faron's doom. So he nodded curtly and hit the wall again with his shoulder, and at her gesture it lowered and he lunged forward to get to the spirit, his paws sinking slightly in the wet ground. She trailed behind him as the vessel floated from his neck and was enveloped by the cloud of light; he then turned away and snapped his eyes shut at the flash of light following his action.

When he opened them, Midna was nowhere to be seen, and, surprisingly enough, neither was Faron. Before he had time to question the presence of either, however, water came back into the spring with a wild rush of water, and he was swept off his feet and found himself near the shoreline. Faron shone brightly from the center of the spring, and he cast a quick glance at his shadow, seeing strange shapes writhe and twist in its outline and determining Midna lay in wait within.

Faron was trying to say something but Link could not hear, so he approached cautiously. He didn't go very far forward, just close enough to hear Faron's words; the light the spirit was exuding was blinding.

_Hero of the Gods, I thank you profusely for your help, for both me and Ordona._ Link gave a slight nod, sitting down in the cool, refreshing waters; already he could feel the energy soaking into his bones, allowing him to straighten up instead of slouch over. _I have already warned my kindred of the upcoming attacks. I expect you will have to aid them within the days._ Link snorted, and could almost swear he heard someone chuckling with him; he realized belatedly it had probably been Midna. _Take care, and return often; Ordona and myself will inform you of anything of interest we may learn._

He nodded, and Faron faded away within a few seconds, leaving natural sunlight flowing in through the leaves, and then tried his old trick of calling up Midna for aid, just to see if it would work: a sharp yip. It did, and she appeared before him as a shadowy echo of herself.

"Let me guess, you want me to teleport you somewhere? Way to say hello to an old friend," she said with a sigh, and at Link's irritated look her expression changed as she seemed to think. "Huh. The old portals are still here, so I get you pretty close to Castle Town. Don't move."

The familiar sensation of being dissected and picked apart tugged at his gut, and he watched with a morbid fondness as his paws disappeared from view, then his legs, then his chest, and finally his vision darkened. There were a few seconds of nothingness that he wasn't quite aware of but at the same time was; then he was on his paws again at the bridge of Castle Town, feeling decidedly odd as he wobbled on his first step. "Forgotten how it feels like, huh," Midna said in his ear as he trotted forward, and he let out a slight huff in agreement as he entered the towns' gates.

Per usual, everyone ran away screaming, the people who were awake at least; it was early morning, with the sun not even up, and their terrified yells were met with irritated shouts from those trying to sleep. Midna kept laughing as he made his way towards the castle and, after entering the main door, to the princess's private chambers. When he arrived, he nosed the door open with the ease of long practice, and he trotted in to find Zelda sitting up in her bed.

"Link," she said, and upon seeing his leg, now uninjured, she hummed in approval, at least for a moment; then she frowned, seeing as he was tracking an unidentifiable black liquid on her marble floor. "It's good to see you in one piece. I wasn't expecting you to return so quickly."

"He had help," Midna said, and she slipped out of his shadow and into the darkness of the corner. There she held her actual form, tall, thin, lithe and proud, with flaming orange hair and a cloak as dark as night; so long as she was not in direct sunlight, it seemed, she could hold her form. "Greetings, Princess."

Zelda had been in the process of standing from her bed, but she stilled all movements at the sight of the Twili Princess; after a few moments of tense silence, she moved again, this time standing and with her hands curled anxiously in front of her. "Midna," she said guardedly, taking a step towards her while Link trotted over and sat at Zelda's side. "I was under the impression you were back in the Twili World."

"I was," Midna agreed airily, and then she said, "But then I was kicked out again."

"Why? What happened?" Zelda asked, alarmed, and Link touched her arm with his nose to calm her down; one of her hands lowered to scratch softly behind his ear as she then said more calmly, "It's not Zant, is it? Or Ganondorf?"

"I don't know," Midna replied. "It was fine for the months when I first left. Then one day, the Sols were gone, my citizens were horribly transformed again, and monsters held some sort of ritual and I found myself in your world. I was lucky because I was stuck in the Faron region, near the spring; when Twilight fell, I was able to locate Link and therefore get to you. I was hoping you might have some answers, because I have no idea what's going on."

"That would make three of us, I'm afraid," Zelda said, "as we were hoping you would be able to lend some insight."

"It was really quick," Midna said. "If I had gotten a look at some faces, I would be able to help. But all I know is that I went to sleep, I woke up in the middle of some star on the floor, and then I was in the shadow of a tree in Faron and nearly lost my hand when it was in the sun for a little too long."

"Twilight had returned to our realm, and it keeps returning for reasons we do not understand or know," Zelda told her, and then she mused, "Your return must have something to do with this."

"Who would do that, though?" Midna wanted to know. "Or even better, who could do that?" The silence that followed wasn't one Link quite dared to penetrate, as he and the princess exchanged glances while Midna grew paler where she stood.

Because if Midna wasn't behind all this, then who was?


End file.
